The best blueberry recipe

On this first day of Autumn, I am looking back wistfully to summer's blueberry bounty to bring you our favourite blueberry recipe and our favourite blueberry book. Yes, of course, there is a blueberry book - 'Blueberry Girl' by Neil Gaiman!

It is the perfect present for a baby girl, or a girl of any age really. Who doesn't need to be blessed like this: Grant her the wisdom to choose her path right, free from unkindness and fear.

Or perhaps like this: Truth is a thing she must find for herself, precious and rare as a pearl. Give her all these and a little bit more ... gifts for a blueberry girl.

I love how the blueberry girl - a different looking girl throughout the illustrations - is watched over by ladies of light and ladies of darkness and ladies of never you mind. (Annalise and I love to say that line aloud - go on, say it aloud for yourself!)

The story is a prayer, a wish for the unborn daughter of the author. One of the first illustrations by Charles Vess is of a pregnant woman.

Whether you picture your daughter or your six-year-old neighbour or your sixteen year-old niece, this is a beautiful book to read aloud to a special girl.

And this is a beautiful recipe to share! This scone is meant to look rustic and to be devoured within minutes. We have cooked it twice this week for friends - it is best served immediately so I tend to cook it when I invite friends and family to our place. It is also a child-friendly recipe - both in the cooking and eating! And while my daughter is the one most interested in cooking, it is my two blueberry sons who always ask for second helpings of this dish!

Blueberry Scone (adapted from a recipe by Bill Granger from an old Delicious magazine)

Ingredients
250g plain flour
1 tbs caster sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
100g unsalted butter, chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125 ml cream
100g blueberries, tossed in a little bit of flour
an extra egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Add the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt to the food processor and pulse briefly. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs.

Tip the mixture into a bowl and carefully mix in the 2 eggs and cream - don't overmix the batter. Gently stir in the blueberries.

Turn the dough onto the baking tray and mound into a circle, about an inch and a half high. (It is better to go flatter rather than taller so your scone doesn't burn on the outside while still gooey inside).

Divide the scone into 8 wedges with a knife but don't cut all the way to the bottom. Brush with the extra beaten egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Serve immediately with butter. Enjoy!

"Come over to play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up."